The National Curriculum Guide sets out six key areas of focus in school work that can be considered as the basic elements of education. These basic elements are the focus of all school work at all levels. The basic elements are shaped by national laws and educational policies as well as international agreements and policies in the field of education.

The basic elements of education are presented as a way for governments to focus specifically on factors that are important to consider in modern schooling that seeks to educate for the future.

The curriculum presents subject-specific emphases that outline the competencies that students are expected to possess upon completion of primary school. The presentation of the core components emphasizes that individuals need to possess broader competencies than those defined directly within the subjects.

Six basic elements are defined in the National Curriculum Guide: health and welfare, equality, democracy and human rights, literacy, sustainability, and creativity.

From the National Curriculum Guide for Primary Schools

The basic elements are about literacy in society, culture, environment and nature so that children and young people learn to build themselves mentally and physically, to save themselves in society and to work with others. The basic elements are also about vision and the ability and willingness to influence and actively participate in maintaining, changing and developing one’s society.

… They are community-oriented as they are intended to promote increased equality and democracy and to work towards ensuring that society has well-educated and healthy people, both for participation in changing society for the better and for the work that is done in the present.

The fundamental elements of education should be reflected in the working practices of everyone who works in schools, and the working environment of children and young people there should be shaped by the fundamental elements. The curriculum clearly explains their importance and how they are interconnected.

Many countries have included core skills and core foundations in their curricula, expecting that these emphases are the responsibility of everyone working in schools, not just teachers or specific subjects. The emphases vary, but they all have in common that they focus on skills that are considered important for individuals in an ever-changing world.

Each core element has been explained in a separate issue, which presents ideas about the connection between the core element and learning and teaching and general school work.

Issue | Basics of Education